Jurickson Profar working again at second base

Jurickson Profar resumed fielding drills Friday and was back at it Saturday with manager Ron Washington, but the injured second baseman still isn’t allowed to throw and is at least two weeks from swinging a bat.

But he has overcome any anguish from being lost for 10 to 12 weeks with a torn muscle in his right shoulder during the last weekend of spring camp. He’s focusing on staying in shape and staying sharp in the field.

“I’m trying to work and wait,” said Profar, who is lifting weights and doing cardiovascular work. “I want to be healthy, so I’m patient. I’m working hard at the things I can do.”

He and Donnie Murphy worked for about 20 minutes with Washington and infield coach Tim Bogar, fielding grounders and making underhanded flips to second base.

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“I ran him through that stuff today, and he looks like he hasn’t missed anything,” Washington said. “He did it extremely well.”

Run, Rangers, run

Four of the speedier Rangers, three of them relative newcomers, went through some early work their base-running technique, with the purpose of reminding them to be more aggressive on the bases.

Among them was left-fielder Shin-Soo Choo, who has appeared hesitant a few times when an extra base was available. Washington wants the Rangers to challenge the other team to make a play.

“We just wanted to make them aware of how we want to run the bases,” Washington said. “We need to go first to third more. We’re checking into second base too much. The only way you can do that is get the proper lead, the proper secondary and the proper read, and be willing to challenge somebody.”

Running into many outs on the bases the past few years have drawn the ire of the fans, but Washington steadfastly believes that being aggressive on the bases does more good than harm.

“You’ve got to make mistakes before you can figure it out,” Washington said. “We’ve just got to keep pounding. We’ve got new guys. I don’t care about them getting picked off or thrown out. Never have. Never will. I want them to be aggressive. That’s the way we play.”

Briefly

The Rangers optioned right-hander Daniel McCutchen to Double A Frisco to make room for Saturday starter Nick Martinez. McCutchen allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings Friday, his only action joining the team Tuesday.

Catcher Chris Gimenez refused outright assignment to Triple A Round Rock and is a free agent. Gimenez was on the Opening Day roster because he had been claimed only three days before the season started, but then was designated for assignment Tuesday.